Change Of Mined: Study Highlights Appalachia’s Tough Task Ahead

At a recent conference in Lexington, Kentucky, economists and community leaders gathered to talk about the state’s current budget crunch and possible economic future. Peter Hille, president of Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, said Kentucky and other Appalachian states need to do more to build a new economy and move from dependence on a single source.

“Because coal played such a dominant role, it took the oxygen out of the room for the development of other sectors of the economy,” he said.

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Hear Becca's story about a new study commissioned by the ARC showing how difficult it will be for the region to recover from coal's collapse.

Credit Alexandra Kanik

MACED, as his group is known, works to increase economic alternatives in Appalachia and partners with the Appalachian Regional Commission. Hille said the region’s vision for a new economy needs to be more just, sustainable and diverse. He says that means not replacing one big industry with another one and instead looking at a range of economic opportunities.

That’s part of what the ARC is trying to foster with the latest $20 million round of funding for its Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization projects, or POWER grants. But a new study commissioned by the ARC shows just how hard it will be for the region to recover from coal’s collapse.

Driving Diversification

POWER grants supported 46 projects between 2015 and 2017 ranging from learning computer coding to developing the tourism industry. Last year the White House’s budget proposed eliminating funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission, but regional Congressional leaders pushed back and kept ARC's funding intact. It’s unclear if the White House will seek to zero out funding in its next budget.

“We have people who would like to work in a perfect world, but they don’t have the education or the training or the skills to get a job so they don’t even bother to look for work in the first place,” Director of West Virginia University’s Business and Economic Research, John Deskins said.

The Coalfield Development Corporation allows trainees to earn money while learning carpentry and other skills.

Credit Rebecca Kiger

The ARC study he helped conduct finds the labor force has declined substantially, especially in the prime working-age population in central Appalachia. Job markets in Kentucky and West Virginia have an especially hard time absorbing coal workers into other sectors of the economy because a miner’s skills don’t transfer well to other work. Deskins said Appalachia needs to invest more in educating and retraining people in order to attract new businesses.

“It doesn’t matter how good the tax climate is or how good the regulatory environment, or how good infrastructure is,” he said. “A business will not locate here if they can’t find the workers that they need.”

Vicious Cycle

The study also found a vicious cycle at work. As the economic base in Appalachia suffers, state and local governments have fewer resources for the education needed. Deskins said part of what made the decline in the coal market so difficult for the region is that there were no other industries or other sectors of the economy that were growing to offset the losses. He said Appalachia needs to supplement and diversify its economy with a broad range of industries from manufacturing to tourism and food.

Brian Lego, a co-author of the ARC report and a researcher at West Virginia University, agreed.

“So you do have some diversification, but it’s not to the extent that’s been needed to offset what’s occurred as far as the coal jobs that have been lost over the past several years,” he said.

Jacob Dyer at the Coalfield Development Corporation site.

Credit Rebecca Kiger

Lego said part of the challenge is what were once considered advanced skills are now basic ones needed for a lot of industries. He said it’s not just miners who are affected, it’s the entire supply chain of the coal industry.

“Not only is less coal being demanded, but as these coal plants retire you have the impact of less coal being mined but also less coal being transported,” University of Tennessee researcher, Mark Burton said.

Isolation

Burton said the mining troubles ripple throughout the region. For example, as less coal is hauled more freight workers will need to be retrained as well.

“The railroads that operate in the region have already taken a number of steps to reduce their investment in the region,” he said.

Burton said the region’s physical isolation also cuts off commercial and cultural ideas and educational opportunities. He said the initial design of the interstate system left out much of Appalachia because of the difficult terrain, something the ARC worked to change with an early focus on roads and physical infrastructure.

But despite the challenges, he said, Appalachians have some things going for them.

“Appalachians in general are very stubborn, they want what they want and will work for it and wait for it more than almost any other segment of the population,” Burton said.

Looking to the Future

Burton said people are realizing that coal is not going to come back and be the economic driver it once was. Peter Hille with MACED said the question is not how to bring back coal jobs but how to build new jobs. He said talk of bringing back coal is a distraction from the real work that needs to be done.

“Building a new economy that goes beyond the past, honors the heritage that we have in this region, but really looks to the future that we want for our children and our grandchildren,” Hille said.

The true costs of the deep cuts in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would fall disproportionately on many of the poor and working class people in the Ohio Valley region who helped to elect him, according to lawmakers and policy analysts.

Deep cuts to subsidized health care, food aid, disability assistance, and addiction treatment services would have the biggest effect in parts of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia with some of the nation’s greatest needs for these safety net programs.

Additionally, some federal agencies supporting new economic development in the communities hardest hit by the coal industry’s downturn would be sharply reduced or eliminated under the White House budget plan.

Two powerful Kentucky Republicans have an idea to boost an economic development agency that helps Appalachia: Move it out of the nation's capital.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and veteran Rep. Hal Rogers are sponsoring a bill they say will refocus the Appalachian Regional Commission to invest more in the poorest communities in 13 Appalachian states. The bill, introduced Monday in the House and Senate, would move the panel's headquarters from Washington to a location in Appalachia to be chosen later. The lawmakers say similar commissions are headquartered in their respective regions, reducing administrative costs and making them more accountable to communities they serve.

An economic development agency targeted for elimination by President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday nearly $16 million in funding to help diversify economies in hard-hit coal communities in seven Appalachian states.

The funding is earmarked for 18 projects in Alabama, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia, and will create or retain more than 1,700 jobs, the Appalachian Regional Commission said in a news release.

The money announced by the ARC comes from a job organization comprising the commission, the U.S. Commerce and Labor departments, and other federal agencies, and is "a blueprint for new jobs, fresh opportunities, and a robust economic future for Appalachia," ARC federal co-chair Earl Gohl said in the release.

By most measures, health outcomes in the Ohio Valley region are not very good, with many parts of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia ranking near the bottom among states.

But a team of health researchers may have found a few places within the region that stand out. They see them as potential ‘bright spots’ -- places with some health measures better than expected for the region.

Now the researchers want to know why these communities fare better and whether the lessons can be applied elsewhere.

Residents of West Virginia’s smallest county give different answers when asked to describe their home.

“There is here a very strong sense of community," a local reverend said.

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Hear Aaron's story about some health bright spots in our region.

“The people are friendly. They’re helpful,” according to a woman working with a local non-profit operating in one of the county’s poorest areas.

Danny Ferguson didn’t like what he saw happening in Lincoln County, West Virginia, where he grew up. The downturn in the coal industry had hit hard, and young people had few job options beyond some fast food places.

“We don’t have nothing else for them to be employed,” Ferguson said. “Lincoln County is in bad shape and Coalfield seemed like the only one willing to take a chance in that area.”

That’s the Coalfield Development Corporation, where Ferguson now works as a crew chief to mentor and train young people in carpentry and other skills. Trainees earn pay while getting experience as they reclaim old buildings, restore furniture, and install solar energy stations. Ferguson said the program offers hope in an otherwise bleak situation.

“The coal is dead, but they’re trying to find something for these kids to go do instead of nothing.”